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Kids say

What's the story?

Max Fischer (Jason Schwartzman) is a 10th grader on scholarship at the tony private school Rushmore Academy. Max shows his devotion to the academy by participating in every possible extracurricular activity, but he's risking expulsion unless his grades improve. Max falls for one of the teachers, a beautiful young widow. And he connects with Blume (Bill Murray), a rich academy alumnus who is drawn to Max's passions, and even acts as a go-between for Max's absurd attempt at courtship, until he himself becomes attracted to the teacher. All three characters feel a sense of loss. Blume and the teacher seem stuck. Max, with his collision of adult and childish emotions, comes up with one hopeless scheme after another to get attention and respect, ignoring genuine opportunities for true friendship. Yet somehow, he manages to keep working toward his dreams, and even makes a few of them come true.

Is it any good?

QUALITY

This story about the misery that comes from the grandiosity and humiliation during adolescence is probably of more interest to adults than to the teens who are already only too aware of those experiences.

Rushmore is not a movie in which people learn great lessons and are drawn closer together. It's a movie in which a lot of hurt people grope toward something that even they cannot quite visualize. Its appeal is in its quirky characters and in its moments of humor and perception.

Families can talk about...

Families can talk about Max and Herman's rivalry. Who do you want to win? Why?

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The age displayed for each title is the minimum one for which it's developmentally appropriate. We recently updated all of our reviews to show only this age, rather than the multi-color "slider." Get more information about our ratings.

Rushmore

"Rushmore" is a quirky, indie gem of a movie, written and directed by nice-guy director Wes Anderson. The movie centers around a nerdy high-school playwright named Max Fischer who swears, lies, and manipulates others to fulfill his various ends, but at heart he's an honest kid who's been deeply affected by his mother's death and the way the world treats him. The film has its own handmade aesthetic, treating audiences to the full dosage of Wes Anderson's trademark style. Though the movie is undoubtedly an acquired comedic taste, it has a moving undertone and plenty of inappropriate sight gags to laugh at in its scant running time. (There are numerous instances of strong language-- f-words and the like. As well, some sex acts are mentioned briefly in dialogue, though not often enough to label the picture a "sex comedy." In short, this is a coming-of-age tale that rewards audiences and stimulates discussion moments after the slow-motion credits. Go see it.

Rushmore is tender-hearted, even though the kids swear

This is a strange little movie with a lot of soul.
I like that Wes Anderson gives young people -- kids included -- fuller characterizations than most filmmakers do.
The positive message is forgiveness between friends, and it's reinforced a few times in the movie.
The positive role model is Max Fischer's father, who is completely supportive and accepting of Max no matter what. Max himself is a positive role model, because he shares his talents unselfconsciously with those around him. He is creative, courageous and involved.
We get to see the inner motivations of several characters, their vulnerabilities and their dreams.
There is an awkward moment of truth between Max and Miss Cross -- well, a few awkward moments -- but they are instructive.
This movie has a lot of compassion for its characters, and no one gets humiliated or hurt in a cheap way.
The reckless behavior is so outlandish, so 'designed', that it's not the sort to be copied by teens.

Fantastic Movie! earns its R rating through the F word

I loved this movie and I'm very happy I watched it. I felt that it was inspiring, interesting, and creative. The only reason this movie is rated R is because of the F word. There is childish mention of hand jobs (in a very school boyish, forest gump, kinda way) and at the end of the movie theres a flash of photographs of naked women from a magazine, and it pans out. You definitely can see them clearly but only for about 2 seconds. The F word is used around 10 times, again in a school boyish kind of way, only once is it said in a serious, vulgar way and its by a teacher. I hope this helps! Thanks!

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